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ethical use of GenAI for automated news production in Spanish journalism

Source article: GenAI in journalism: An ethical analysis of implications, best practices, and challenges

Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI), which involves the creation of automated content in any format, has become a challenge in journalism. This technology is forcing us to rethink the traditional ethical postulates of the journalistic profession. This study analyses the impact of GenAI on journalism from an ethical perspective. To this end, it examines the perceptions of professionals by means of a survey of journalists (N = 324) and in-depth interviews with those responsible for the ethical use of artifi…

By the Truvace desk1 min read1 sourcePeer-reviewedTRV-2026-1204· cite & verify
GenAI in journalism: An ethical analysis of implications, best practices, and challenges
Conditions pour IA digne de confiance conditions requirements for Trustworthy AI by Lamiot. CC BY 4.0 · https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Trace impact readingContested
P 66The P score combines the specificity and measured human impact of the grounded problem claim with the strength of this Trace’s cited sources.

Both sides are scored from claims and sources, not community votes.

G 67The G score combines the specificity and measured human impact of the grounded gain claim with the strength of this Trace’s cited sources.

In brief

A peer-reviewed study published October 24, 2025 examined GenAI in journalism through a survey of 324 journalists and interviews with AI-ethics leads at ten Spanish media outlets, focusing on problems, challenges, and measures for responsible use in newsrooms.

The findings matter because verification failures and biases directly affect news accuracy and trust in journalism, prompting calls for formal ethical guidelines and training; it remains uncertain how such measures are actually implemented and whether perceptions in Spain's polarized pluralist media system transfer to other systems.

Main points

  1. Survey of N=324 journalists plus in-depth interviews with ethics leads at ten relevant media outlets in Spain.
  2. Survey respondents ranked lack of verification of automated news as the main GenAI problem; ethics leads emphasized biases.
  3. Study frames GenAI as forcing a rethink of traditional ethical postulates of the journalistic profession.

The gain

Journalists and AI-ethics leads in Spanish newsrooms identify establishing ethical guidelines and newsroom training as key actions to achieve responsible GenAI use.

The problem

Use of GenAI for automated news in journalism creates ethical problems including lack of verification of automated news and embedded biases.

The rundown

The study combined a survey of 324 journalists with in-depth interviews with those responsible for the ethical use of artificial intelligence in ten relevant media outlets in Spain to examine perceptions of GenAI's ethical impact.

Results differentiate groups: survey respondents highlight verification as the central problem, while ethics leads highlight biases, but both converge on the need for ethical guidelines and training to implement responsible use in newsrooms.

What this doesn’t fix

Findings are based on perceptions within Spain, described as one of the European countries belonging to the polarized pluralist model, and on ten outlets, limiting generalizability beyond that context.

Sources

  1. Peer-reviewedOnline Journal of Communication and Media Technologies2025-10-24

The debate